Taco 'bout biting off more than you can chew.
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you → bite → more
A Texas woman's lunch took an unexpectedly toothsome turn when she allegedly discovered a cow tooth in her taco, prompting a lawsuit against popular restaurant chain Torchy's Tacos over a bizarre ingredient the company has since confirmed was the real deal.
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company → take → ingredient
Nohemi Castillo claims she nearly swallowed the tooth while eating takeout from the chain's South Congress Avenue location in Austin on June 9, according to a lawsuit independently obtained by Fox News Digital and filed Oct. 13 in Travis County District Court.
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she → claim → Court
The order included the chain's "Democrat" tacos, according to the complaint, although a cow tooth was certainly not among the advertised ingredients.
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tooth → include → ingredients
Torchy's Tacos confirmed the unusual discovery in a statement to Austin TV station KVUE, saying its own investigation determined that the object was a cow tooth.
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object → confirm → KVUE
"Upon receiving the guest complaint, we conducted a thorough review and identified the item as a cow tooth," the company said.
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company → receive → tooth
"This can occasionally happen when processing the meat, though it is quite rare."
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it → happen → meat
The restaurant explained that its barbacoa comes from natural beef cheek sourced from a supplier, adding that it has taken steps to prevent similar incidents.
"We have partnered with our supplier to reinforce their internal procedures to prevent this from happening in the future," Torchy's said.
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Torchy → explain → future
Castillo's attorney, Scott Vasquez, told Fox News Digital that the company did not acknowledge to him that the object was a cow tooth until the story attracted local media attention in October, roughly four months after the incident.
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story → tell → incident
Vasquez provided Fox News Digital with additional photographs showing the tooth beside a tape measure, offering a closer look at the sizable object Castillo claims she nearly swallowed.
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she → provide → object
Another photograph included in the court filing shows the object resting on aluminum foil beside what appears to be taco meat.
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what → include → foil
A witness statement provided by Castillo's attorney describes the moment an ordinary lunch with a colleague took an unpleasant turn.
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lunch → provide → turn
"As we were eating, I heard an ‘awww!’
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I → eat → awww
When I turned to Nohemi, I saw her pulling something out of her mouth, she said, 'I think it's a bone,'" the witness wrote.
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witness → turn → mouth
The colleague described Castillo examining the object while holding her left cheek before concluding that it appeared to be a tooth.
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it → describe → cheek
According to the lawsuit, Castillo was disgusted and sickened by the discovery and visited a doctor later that evening, where she received prescriptions.
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she → accord → prescriptions
The complaint alleges that she incurred medical expenses and experienced physical pain, mental anguish and other damages.
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she → allege → pain
Castillo is suing Torchy's Tacos and Success Foods Management Group, which does business as Torchy's Tacos, alleging that the defendants failed to properly prepare, inspect and distribute the food before selling it to customers.
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defendants → sue → customers
The lawsuit further alleges that Torchy's failed to adequately monitor its meat supplier and breached implied warranties that food sold to consumers is fit for consumption.
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food → allege → consumption
It also alleges violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and federal food safety requirements.
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It → allege → Act
Castillo contends that she would not have purchased the meal, or would have examined it more closely, had she known about the alleged defect.
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she → contend → defect
She is seeking monetary relief of $250,000 or less, with any final award to be determined by a jury.
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award → seek → jury
Vasquez also told Fox News Digital that he has become aware of other individuals reporting similar experiences with Torchy's since the story received attention, although those accounts have not been independently verified.
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accounts → tell → attention
The attorney characterized the company's earlier responses as providing limited information while shifting blame and responsibility to others.
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attorney → characterize → others
Torchy's, meanwhile, maintains that it took the complaint seriously and conducted a thorough review.
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it → maintain → review
"We are aware of the situation and take all concerns about our food seriously," the company told KVUE.
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company → take → KVUE
Torchy's did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
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Torchy → respond → comment
The Aporia
